Boxing: Shields wears two golds around her neck

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Claressa Shields brought one gold medal to the ring with her and left with two hanging around her neck after retaining her Olympic middleweight title and making U.S. boxing history on Sunday.

As a gesture of confidence, having the 2012 gold in her pocket before the fight in the expectation of showing it off alongside another took some beating.

But so too does Shields, the 'T-Rex' who has not lost since 2012 and is her country's first double boxing champion in 112 years.

Her two golds are two more than any other U.S. boxer has won since 2004.

"At London I knew I was going to win and I knew I was going to win here," she told reporters after the unanimous decision over Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands.

"I've worked so hard to be here. You know not everybody can be an Olympic gold medalist. I'm a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Oh my god, I can't believe I just said that," she exclaimed.

Shields knew long before the result was confirmed, and the winner's hand raised by the Vietnamese referee, that the gold was hers.

Climbing out of the ring after the announcement, she ran around the arena with the U.S. flag held aloft before wrapping it around her.
Continued...